Manager Hopefuls Interview Delray Debut Yields Professional Views

November 21, 1987|By SANDRA JACOBS, Staff Writer

DELRAY BEACH -- It was too early to pick a winner, but the first round of interviews yielded good insight into the five finalists for the position of city manager, city commissioners said Friday night.

``They`re all very fine candidates -- any one of them would be excellent to serve the city of Delray Beach,`` Mayor Doak Campbell said after a public session during which each candidate gave a brief statement, then answered questions asked by the commissioners.

Commissioners will meet one-on-one this morning in closed sessions with the candidates chosen from about 100 applicants screened by the Atlanta search firm of Mercer/Slavin Inc. Commissioners will discuss the candidates after the interviews, but are not expected to make a decision until early next week.

-- Marsha Segal-George, former deputy county administrator of Adams County, Colo.

Each candidate spent about one-half hour before commissioners and the public Friday.

Alvarez, Barry and Harrison described their accomplishments, but each stressed experience with problems unique to Florida.

Pomeranz called himself an ``aggressive`` leader whose strength is motivating his colleagues.

And Segal-George, who was a city and county attorney before moving into management, characterized her approach to government as ``humanistic,`` but said that doesn`t stop her from being tough on fiscal matters.

Before introducing the candidates, Jim Mercer, partner in Mercer/Slavin Inc., explained that many of the applicants had responded to ads in national magazines and some were recruited by the firm. Mercer interviewed city commissioners and staff members to develop a profile of the kind of chief executive officer the city wants.

City Commissioner Jimmy Weatherspoon said he was pleased overall with the candidates, but saw flaws in the work of the firm.

``I find it hard to believe that in a nationwide search there wasn`t a black, per se, who is as good as these candidates,`` he said.

``There were one or two (blacks) in the top 25 (applicants), but we did not feel their qualities stacked up with the ones we are presenting,`` Mercer said.

Mercer said one finalist withdrew for medical reasons and a few other candidates ``pulled out`` after submitting an application. But he said the attrition rate was not unusual and was not a negative reflection on Delray Beach.

Mercer said the public disclosure laws that make a candidate`s application open to public scrutiny from the beginning of the selection process can be a deterrent to some prospects.

``I`ve never been through an interview process that`s been this public,`` Barry said after his first interview, which about 25 residents attended. ``I`m glad there`s this much interest. It`s an interesting forum.``

Commissioner Mary McCarty said after Friday`s session that she did not expect her colleagues to make a decision today. But Friday`s session gave her a running start on her own choice.

``I eliminated one for sure,`` she said, and grinned mysteriously on her way to the reception for candidates and commissioners that followed the public session.